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Law enforcement authorities are refusing to release an audio recording taken during the arrest of Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson, the Austin television station KXAN is reporting.
Assistant County Attorney Daniel Bradford told KXAN that the decision to withhold the audio “is based on the public’s desire to protect the integrity of the county’s investigations into and prosecution of crime.”
But what about the public’s desire to find out whether the police are mistreating citizens? Benson has claimed he was treated badly by the officers who arrested him for boating while intoxicated, and the audio could shed light on whether Benson’s claims are valid.
Benson claims he was not drunk and was simply enjoying an evening on his boat with friends and family when police stopped him. His next court hearing is scheduled for June 30.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am
Integrity. Can we say that about cops. If there not hiding something lets the audio be heard.
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:45 am
the public’s right to know whether the police are mistreating citizens comes through the trial and verdict. releasing audio with only anecdotal storytelling on either side only taints a jury.
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:58 am
I’m a prosecutor and let me tell you there is no way they can release that audio. They may need to share it with the Defense, but they cannot release it publicly.
Prosecutors ahve a duty not to disclose any evidence or information about the investigation of a case that may taint the jury pool. The tape will surely be played in a public trial and if Benson ends up being the victim that he claims to be, it will certainly be discoverable in any case that he may bring against the police officers once the criminal trial is concluded.
C’mon Florio - you’re an attorney too, right?
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am
Florio didn’t post that entry. Michael David Smith did. While I don’t think he’s an attorney, he may have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night which should count for something, no?
IMO, the bigger question over this whole deal is - What was Benson’s BAC level when he was arrested? Why isn’t that reported? It says in the article that he was arrested for suspicion of boating while intoxicated. So, what were the results of a BAC test?
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:41 am
I may not be an attorney (and I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night, either), but prosecutors and defense attorneys release that sort of information all the time for that exact reason - taint the jury pool. Sure, they’re not supposed to, but it happens quite a bit.
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:41 am
This only increases the doubt regarding the Texas police. My gut from the start told me Cedric Benson was mistreated and taken advantage of. Saying that, it’s understandable that the tape wasn’t released based on what NOVADAWG wrote. But at the same time, what is the true harm in releasing the tape? It is TRUTH after all (hopefully), as what is heard on the tape literally did happen. What are the authorities hiding?
Probably a lot.
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:43 am
But what about the public’s desire to find out whether the police are mistreating citizens? Benson has claimed he was treated badly by the officers who arrested him for boating while intoxicated, and the audio could shed light on whether Benson’s claims are valid.
Mike, your kidding, right? So, anyone who makes a claim of Police mistreatment/abuse and can scream Mommy, Mommy, help me Mommy after being caught (alledgly) drunken boating and then the tape is released WOULDN’T have a jury of liberal democrats lining up to award this idiot (who shouldn’t have been there based upon his claims) millions? Now if THAT doesn’t bring out every democrat on Welfare to pile on, nothing will.
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:47 am
at this point, cries to release it are intended to create the impression that an injustice has occurred, and yes, taint the jury pool…
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:50 am
MDS posted that one NOVADawg. But it kinda seems that your post should be common knowledge regardless. I am sure we will hear the audio at the conclusion of whatever happens.
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May 21st, 2008 at 12:12 pm
NOVADawg, not to attack you personally as a prosecutor, but the profession as a whole… Why is it that the public must be in the dark about so many things that go on within your inner circles? Also, why does it seem that every prosecutor wants so desperately to convict everyone and everything that walks into the mausoleums known as court houses… Why professionally do you not go after the inner machinations of so many bad eggs in police departments? Which is a cancer and permeates our society? You may call out Mike Florio as an atty., however, it should be you (your profession) in a prosecutory role who must share in the blatant abuses which so many have suffered. In fact, so many in your side of the misery so conveniently wipe your hands clean of any wrongdoing. Benson may or may not have done what he is alleged to have done… I just think this is another case which sullies the law enforcement department(s) in Texas and elsewhere… I personally have no faith in the American Judicial System and its lackeys which are the true Mafia in every sense of the word… Expose the police abuse and correct the false convictions of those who cannot defend themselves accordingly.
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May 21st, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Whatever…I live in PA, i see it first hand everyday. The police are the biggest gang on the streets, and they get away with murder because they are protected. Its like the mob boss who is a confidential informant and allowed to keep operating. Do any of ya’ll think those Philly cops (big deal 4 out of 20) would’ve lost their jobs after yanking and beating those 3 guys out of thier car had there not been a chopper taping the assault; lemme help you answer….NO WAY IN HELL! The “audio” wouldve not been released, and they wouldve been resisting, and all the good ole boys would be bck on the beat.
Usualy i see that players like Pacman and Chris Henry are in the wrong, but i truely beleive that in the end of this he will be cleared. I have family and best friends down there and they all say its run by racism. They probably just waited until he brought that boat out and punced on them after a few hrs. These comments are being made as im watching “Dark Blue”…..cops are dirty just like Pacman and the Bengals.
My last question is why was he removed from the boat he was on AND THEN removed from every witness’ sight before he was maced and waterboarded. So there’s no one to verify his story!
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May 21st, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Regarding BAC test. I’ve seen some shows documenting Lake Havsu during party times. I haven’t seen a cop on those shows give a breathe test, only a sobriety test. Imagine trying to do one of those even sober on boat thats rocking.
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May 21st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
The public can hear the audio when Benson has his day in court. Why should Benson OR the Police have to be tried in the court of public opinion prior to being tried in a court of law?
Let law enforcement do their job and if it means the audio tapes are not heard until AFTER the trial date, then so be it. One way or the other they WILL be heard by the public…
Police brutality and corruption is the EXCEPTION, not the RULE.
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May 21st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I’m not well studied in law, but common sense says that the tainting that prosecutors and defense are worried about is when people like Bill O’Reilly or that lady on Fox news get their hands on it and spin in based on the way that they think causing others to fall in line with that thinking and having their portrayals not crafted by either lawyer, but by some outside party. Sure tapes and such are leaked a lot of the time, but a lot does not mean every.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Referee -
You are tragically misinformed.
Prosecutors absolutely “go after” police officers who commit crimes… the fact of the matter is (at least in Northern Virginia) that police misconduct is very, very rare. Even with that rarity, several police officers have been successfully prosecuted in my jurisdiction over the past few years, usually for minor issues, but still prosecutors do our jobs against anyone who commits crimes. Usually in cases with police officers, we’ll bring in a prosecutor from another jurisdiction to make sure that there are no bias issues in the case.
Further, any prosecutor who was involved in the misconduct you claim we are would almost immediately have their license to practice law revoked. Due to the broad rights of the Defendant in the criminal trial and appeals processes, and the naturally adversarial nature of the proceedings in court, any breach of duty that a prosecutor might commit would be immediately brought to the attention of the bar and dealt with.
Prosecutors are held to the highest of standards in their actions and have additional ethical duties above and beyond other attorneys. For example, we can never prosecute a case where we have doubt that the person is guilty. We must affirmatively turn over all evidence that might be considered favorable to the Defendant. We must NOT poison the jury pool by releasing evidence on a pending case. The Defense can say whatever they want to in public to poison the jury pool… the prosecutor cannot. That’s why the tape won’t get into the public, and if it DOES, it will be because the Defense attorney made it available. The reason they don’t get into the public is 90% of the time, the Defense attorney doesn’t want people to know about it - because it makes the Defendant look guilty.
To answer the part of your post that was not a ranting accusation… Why must the public be in the dark? Why does the rule against poisoning the jury exist? Simple. The Defendant must be presumed innocent at the beginning of trial. If the Jury knows of facts (Because a tape of the Defendant committing/admitting to the crime played on the radio/TV) then the presumption of innocence is damaged. It is to PROTECT THE DEFENDANT that the tape cannot be released.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Hey Maddenchamp610, maybe we should worry about Andrew Coach and his family….. not the lowlifes who KILLED him and caught a kickin’ on camera. I can’t speak for other neighborhoods, but the cops in Fairmount certainly take care of us. I’m happy with them being protected and ‘the biggest gang on the street.’ There are hundreds on our streets very literally ‘getting away with murder,’ and you’re worried about a beatdown? Usualy [sic] the cops put their ass on the line to protect us, and sometimes they use excessive force; it’s part of our landscape. If you just shot somebody, the cops aren’t going to stroll up to the vehicle and politely ask you to exit.
As stated before, I’ll wait on the BAC before passing any judgment on this Benson ordeal. Anyone know if he blew or had etoh drawn? I can’t find any facts on this key detail.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
sorry, the guys who were beat shot someone in response to the Coach killing. Same idea, no one cares about the gunplay, just the cops’ fists.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
If I wanna hear a bunch of white women screaming, I’ll turn on The View.
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May 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
“My last question is why was he removed from the boat he was on AND THEN removed from every witness’ sight before he was maced and waterboarded. So there’s no one to verify his story! ”
What was your first question? I’m curious as to why Benson waited until he was out of all the other witnesses sight before he started to struggle and yell Mommy,Mommy, help me Mommy. Don’t you think the cops KNOW that others are listening? Benson himself claimed that he’d been there several times and had been detained several times prior to this incident. It sounds as if Benson is setting up a Police brutality suit. Convient that he was within hearing distance but not within eyesight huh? As all the other democrats/welfare receipents will claim it’s racism. It’s called a racism SCAM.
Like one of the previous posters said-
Police brutality and corruption is the EXCEPTION, not the RULE and that includes the cops in Philly too. Don’t lump all in the same group because of a few. A small % of cops are bad, 100% of criminals (like Benson) are bad. oh, waterboarding?? Do you even know what that means? It’s NOT boarding a craft on the water, it’s torture where you confine a person, blindfold’em, gag them and provide a constant stream of water as if their drowning. Gesshhh talk about TRYING to make cops looks bad.
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May 21st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I live in Austin and a few miles from where this took place. I know the police officers at the Lower Colorado River Authority are very professional. Given the fact that he had so many people on a 30ft. boat it was standard procedure to check for life jackets and general boat safety based on state regulations and federal regulations. They also check to see that the boat operator is not intoxicated or impaired by any other illegal means. (Not that Club Ced has a “allegedly” liking for the “Hippie Lettuce” that he leaves in his ash tray of his tricked out BMWs.) It was standard procedure to give him a field sobriety test. Given his track record, him “running off at the mouth” doesn’t help his situation. He got what he deserved. The moral of the story is don’t make a spectacle of yourself by driving an overloaded boat with loud music while boozed up and high and smart mouth the cops.
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May 21st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
If you read what all the “lawyers” are writing, then the defendants need to be presumed innocent before trial. If they caught a beatdown from the people who are supposed to be protecting, then whats the need for court or laws, lets just let the cops decide and hand out the justice. According to these people’s family and lawyers they did nothing wrong and were targeted because 1 of them LOOKED like one of the bank robbers/ cop killers. And you can tell by the aftermath and the video that they were all pumped up and ready to hand down their own street justice. Seems to me like the charges were trumped up against them to justify the jobs of the cops who beat them down that didnt get fired. BUT, thats just my opinion, i’ll wait for trial to see the outcome, unlike the boys in blue who roam in packs and have the right to fight.
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May 21st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Oh and by the way biz….im worried about the texas law mistreating a guy hanging out with his family and friends on a boat, i merely used that as a recent example. Maybe you should worry about making a comment on the topic your reading and not worry so much about my OPINION.
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May 21st, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Well in New Orleans 5 cops beat up a elderly man. Do you think that they needed that type of force bizurk. I’m sorry, but cop believe they are above the law and they can do whatever they want. What about in New York when police shoot that kid 50 times. Does that reserve that much force? There are thousands of incidence that we don’t know about that has to deal with police brutaliy and curroption so don’t tell me that cops are truly good people. I know some are, but not all.
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May 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I think the Benson situation is fishy as hell, and it sounds like the cops were in the wrong. Otherwise, they would just say his alcohol was 350 and he resisted arrest.
And I don’t blindly defend cops either, I know a lot of them are scumbags, that there is ‘brutaliy’ and ‘curroption’. The Diallo case and others certainly point to that. Especially in Philly, there are sketchy practices. But as a whole I have respect for them; every shooting and robbery in my neighborhood has been dealt with professionally and quickly.
My point was just that cops tend to rough up (virtually all) suspects, regardless of where you are…. it’s just a given. I ‘treuly beleive’ that more importance should be placed on who got shot and when (or in Benson’s case how drunk and defiant he was) than whether the cops rough someone up.
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May 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Florio is right most of the time and pretty damn funny, but if this Benson tape isn’t released immediately, so what. At some point it will be and it will favor one side or the other. It’s not like the facts are going to disappear, and when it comes to law enforcement matters, Florio is not exactly on the ball. Last year he had convicted an entire police dept in San Diego over a shooting of a grade A turd linebacker who was drunk and running from the police with a 6 warrant felon. somehow the cops got said linebacker drunk and stuffed the felon in a car with him and forced him to run. When Florio starts screaming conspiracy, I really start to wonder if he and Nancy Grace are related because she convicted the Duke lacrosse team is ten minutes…..But she’s annoying. At least Florio is funny.
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